Bottle seal



Nov. 7, 1939.

P. J. MARKS BOTTLE SEAL Filed Dec. 23, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTORNEY P. J. MARKS BOTTLE SEAL Nov. 7, 1939.

Filed Dec. 25, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 \NVENTOR J/YM/rs n omuav Patented Nov. 7, 1939 PATENT ori BOTTLE .SEAL

Paul J. Marks, Rochester, N. Y. Application December 23, 1935, Serial No. 55,704

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a combination bottle seal, opener and pryer and has for one of its objects to provide a new and improved construction for such a device.

Another object of this invention is to provide this device with an improved clamping mecha- Another object of this invention is to provide the clamping mechanism. with antifriction rollers which engage the bottle neck from opposite sides and permit the seal to easily slide on or ofi the neck and without marring or chipping the glass.

Another object of this invention is to provide a bottle seal which may be placed on bottle necks of varying diameters and varying thicknesses of the bead surrounding the top of the bottle neck.

A further object of this invention is to so con struct the bottle seal that the resilient sealing member thereof is drawn down onto the bottle neck and partially forced into the opening thereof on the clamping of the seal to the neck of the bottle.

Another object of this invention is to provide the bottle seal with a movable handle for the operation of the clamping mechanism and the placing and removing of the seal from the bottle.

A further object of this invention is to. make the cap member of the seal movable on the clamping mechanism thereof to permit the cap member to move, downonto the bottle neck to hermetically seal the open end thereof while the clamping mechanism is firmly clamped to the bottle neck.

A further object of this invention is to combine the bottle seal with a thermometer in such a manner that the temperature of the liquid sealed within the bottle by the seal is constantly indicated on a dial provided on the cap of the seal.

Another object of this invention is to provide the seal with a magnetic compass so that the clamping mechanism and cap of the seal provide a support for the compass.

All these and other objects and attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent from the detailed description thereof which follows, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of the combination bottle seal, opener and pryer.

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view thereof.

Figure 4 is a side elevationthereof with the handle in its collapsed position.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view of the botof the bottle to which it is tle seal as it appears mounted on the neck of a bottle.

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional View of the seal and bottle neck, the section being taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure '7 is a side elevation of a top of a bottle and a sectional view of the handle of the bottle seal in the position in which it is used as a bottle opener.

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the bottle seal.

Figure 9 is a top plan view of a modified form of the bottle seal with a thermometer incorporated therein.

Figure 10 is a vertical sectional view of the bottle seal illustrated in F'gure 9 and a portion attached, the section being taken on the line Iii-IQ of Figure 9.

Figure 11 is a side elevation of the handle of the bottle Seal and a sectional view of a can engaged by the pryer illustrating the use of the pryer for the removal of the cover of the can.

In the several figures of the drawings like reference numerals indicate like parts.

The combined bottle seal, opener and pryer forming the subject matter of my present invention is especially adapted for use on bottles having a neck with an annular bead around the top of the neck or an annular groove formed around the bottle neck at a short distance from the top thereof. The clamping mechanism of my invention is adapted to engage the shoulder formed by the bead of the groove provided in the'neck of the bottle and is firmly locked thereto while the cap is operated to seal the open end of the bottle neck.

The opener of my invention is combined with a handle for the seal so that with the aid of my combined bottle seal and opener the original cap can be quickly removed from the bottle and replaced by the seal to seal the bottle as tightly as it was originally sealed by the removed. cap.

As illustrated in the various figures of the drawings the combined bottle seal, opener and pryer comprises the cap member 5 which is preferably formed of sheet metal with the bearing flanges 2, 2 bent down on opposite sides at one 3 and 6) which is curved inwardly thereof. This latter flange serves to brace the flanges 2, 2 to keep them from spreading. In the flanges 2, 2 are provided the elongated bearing slots 6, 6 and in these bearings are adapted to rotate the pivot pins 1, l of the antifriction roller 8. A pair of torsion springs 9, 9 are mounted on the pin ill to yieldingly engage the roller 8 and force its pivot pins 1, l to the inner end of the bearing slots 6, 6. In this way the roller 8 is made to yield and move laterally on the under side of the cap member when pressure is applied against it from the right hand side in the position of the seal illustrated in the figures of the drawings.

In the bearing flanges 3, 3 are provided the elongated bearing slots II, I l and in these bearings are mounted to rotate and roll back and forth the pivot pins l2, I2 of the antifriction roller l3. Also mounted between the bearing flanges 31, 3 is the fixed pivot pin M on which is mounted to swing the handle member l5 which operates the clamping mechanism of the seal and has incorporated therein the opener and pryer as will hereinafter be described. Surrounding the pivoted end of the handle member [5 and forming integral parts thereof are the eccentric cams It, It which, as illustrated in Figure 3, engage the pivot pins [2, [2 between the ends of the roller l3 and the bearing flanges 3, 3 so as to force the roller to the left in the figures when the handle member I5 is moved from the position illustrated in Figure 2 to the position illustrated in Figure 5. The pivot pin I4 is located below the horizontal center line of the pivot pins l2, l2 and in the periphery of one or both of the eccentric cams I6 is provided a notch I! which is arranged so that when the handle member is swung from a horizontal position slightly past the downwardly pointing vertical position and the cams are rotated past their center line, the notch ll presents itself to the pivot pins of the roller to have them engage thereinto to keep the handle from swinging back.

Substantially central of the top of the cap member I there is provided a circular depression which forms a boss [9 on the underside thereof. The sealing member of the seal which comprises the circular rubber disc 28 is located between this boss and the antifriction rollers 8 and I3 and is thus removably held in place by the rollers on the underside of the cap member and its boss iii.

In placing the bottle seal on a. bottle it is unfolded as illustrated in Figures 1 to 3 after which the cap member is positioned over the top of the neck of the bottle and is forced down over it to spread the antifriction rollers against the pressure of the spring or springs 9 to permit the annular bead of the bottle neck to pass thru between the rollers and contract on the underside thereof to yieldingly clamp the bottle neck between the antifriction rollers on the underside of its annular bead or in the annular groove provided in the neck. The yielding mounting of the roller 8 permits the bottle seal to be placed on bottle necks of varying diameters and varying thicknesses of the annular bead surrounding the top of the bottle necks, a feature which is extremely important in this invention because the bottle necks and their beads vary considerably so that without this adjustable feature the seal would not operate efliciently on all bottles. The spring or springs 9 exert suflicient pressure against the roller 8 to firmly clamp the bottle neck between the rollers 8 and I3 and hold the rubber sealing disc 2|) slightly compressed against the open top of the neck to seal the bottle.

To increase the sealing efiect of the rubber disc 28 and lock the bottle seal to the neck of the bottle, the handle member l5 of the bottle seal is swung from its dotted line position to the full line position illustrated in Figure 5. During this movement of the handle member the eccentric cams 15 thereof engage the pivot pins I2, I 2 of the roller l3 and draw the cap member laterally over the top of the bottle neck. This movement of the cap member is permitted because of the elongated bearings 6 and H in which the pivot pins of the rollers 8 and 13 are mounted. In bottles in which the rollers 8 and i3 engage the inclined shoulder on the under side of the annular bead without embracing the smallest diameter of the bottle neck below the bead, the pressure exerted by the eccentric cams l6 against the roller l3 forces this roller toward the roller 8 until both rollers embrace the smallest diam-- eter of the bottle neck. During this clamping movement the rollers roll down the inclined shoulder on the underside of the annular bead and in doing so draw the cap member down onto the top of the bottle neck to compress the sealing disc 28 and force the boss l9 along with a portion of the rubber sealing disc into the open end of the bottle neck as illustrated in Figure 5. For

the operation of the bottle seal in this manner the bearing slots 6 and II may extend horizontally in the cap member as illustrated in Figure 2.

However, in order to make the clamping eifect of the bottle seal uniform on all bottles, the elonl gated bearing slots 6 and I I are formed angularly into the flanges of the cap member so that when the cap member is moved laterally by the operation of the handle l5 it is simultaneously drawn downwardly on top of the bottle neck to compress the sealing member 28 and to cause the boss L9 to force a portion of it into the open end of the bottle. By the use of the angular slots 6 and l l, as illustrated in Figure 4, the cap member is thus drawn onto the bottle neck whether the clamping rollers originally engage the under-- side of the annular bead or are already located against the smallest diameter of the bottle neck below the bead.

To prevent the seal from being twisted ofi by a lateral pressure against the handle l5, the horizontal lugs 25 may be provided on the flanges 2 of the cap member as shown in Figures 2 and 4. These lugs are so arranged that when the cap member moves laterally on the locking movement of the handle I5, they are drawn against the bottle neck below the annular bead thereof.

In Figure 8 I have illustrated a modification in which the roller 8 is held fixed in the cap member and the pivot pin Id of the handle 15 is maunted in elongated slots 36 and a torsion spring 31, carried by the cap, operates against the pivot pin M to yieldingly force the eccentric cams it against the pivot pins 12 of the roller l3. In this construction the yielding mounting of the handle 15 takes care of the varying diameters of the bottle neck and the varying thicknesses of their annular bead.

The handle i5 is provided with an opening 26 and on one side of this opening is formed the wedge shaped projection 21. The opening 28 in the handle is dimensioned to have a portion of the edge of the cap 28 of a bottle project herethru as illustrated in Figure '7 so that the projection 21 can engage under the cap 28. By raising the bottle seal and its handle, the cap 28 may thus be readily and quickly pried off and removed from the bottle.

In order to make the handle l useful as an openenas above described, it is necessary to make its handle portion longer. For this purpose suitable downwardly eurved lugs 50 are formed at one end of the cap member I and these lugs engage the handle 15 when extended and hold the handle substantially in line with the cap as illustrated in Figures 7 and 12 topermit the use of the cap as an extension handle for the opener or pryer.

For the purpose of removing a cap which needs a prying instrument, the outer end of the handle I5 is provided with another wedge shaped projection 29. This lug can be readily forced between a container and its cap as illustrated in Figure 11 and then manipulated to force the cap oif from the container.

In Figures 9 and 10 I have illustrated the bottle seal in a larger size for use on bottles such as milk bottles etc. The action in placing the seal on these bottles remains the same as above described. For the milk bottles-the outer end of the handle is provided with an elongated point 30 in place of the Wedge shaped lug so that this point can be forced into the milk'bottle cap and the cap pried out of the neck of the bottle.

As illustrated in Figures 9 and 10 the bottle seal may also be provided with a thermometer. For this purpose a dial 3| is provided in the central depression of the cap of the bottle seal and is covered by a suitable crystal 32.- The indicator 33 of the thermometer is carried on a vertical shaft 34 which is operated by the heat responsive element located in the casing 35 which surrounds the shaft 34. The casing 35 depends from the cap of the seal so as to be located substantially centrally of the bottle neck when the bottle seal is attached thereto. The heat or cold responsive element of the thermometer is thus held suspended in the liquid of the bottle so that the temperature of the liquid within the bottle will be indicated at all times on the indicating dial of the bottle seal while the bottle remains sealed thereby.

I claim:

1. A bottle seal comprising a cap, a boss formed on the under side of said cap, a pair of antifriction rollers laterally movable on the under side of said cap, a sealing disc interposed between said rollers and said boss, yielding means operating against one of said antifriction rollers and cam means operating against the other of said antifriction rollers to clamp a bottle neck between them and hold said sealing disc compressed on top of the bottle neck with said boss forcing a portion of said sealing disc into the bottle neck.

2. A bottle seal comprising a cap, a pair of clamping rollers movably mounted on the under side of said cap, a handle mounted to swing on said cap, means operated by said handle against one of said rollers to cause said roller to move toward the other roller and clamp a bottle neck between them.

3. A bottle seal as set forth in claim 2 in which the means operated by said handle are yieldingly mounted to compensate for variations in the diameters of bottle necks.

4. A bottle seal comprising a cap, bearing flanges depending from the sides of said cap, said bearing flanges having angular bearing slots provided therein, a pair of rollers mounted in said bearing slots, spring means carried by said cap and engaging one of said rollers and means carried by said cap and engaging the other of said rollers to cause said roller to move toward the spring pressed roller.

5. A bottle seal comprising a cap, b earling flanges having angular bearing slots therein depending from the sides of said cap, a pair of rollers mounted in said bearing slots parallel to each other and adapted to move back and forth therein, resilient means carried by said cap and engaging one of said rollers to yieldingly hold it in place at one end of its bearing slots, a handle mounted to swing on said cap and a cam formed on said handle and engaging the other of said rollers to cause said second roller to move toward said spring pressed roller on the movement of said handle, said rollers and said bearing slots being spaced and arranged so as to clamp a bottle neck between them and cause said cap to be drawn down onto the top of the bottle neck with the movement of said cam against its roller.

6. A sealing device for bottles, jars etc. comprising a cap, a yielding and a freely movable clamping member carried by said cap and opposingly arranged for movement toward and away from each other; a cam mounted to rotate on said cap and engaging said freely movable clamping member and means provided on said cam and adapted to engage said clamping member to lock said cam against movement.

7. A bottle or jar seal comprising a cap, a pair of roller clamping members spacedly and movably mounted on said cap, each of said roller clamping members having an annular segmental groove so as to partially encircle the bottle or jar neck on the engagement therewith and means carried by and movable on said cap and engaging one of said roller clamping members to cause said cap to move on said roller clamping members with the clamping members held against the bottle neck or jar.

8. A bottle seal comprising a cap, a spring pressed and a freely movable roller clamping member supported on said cap, an annular segmental groove in each of said roller clamping members adapted to have a bottle or jar engaged thereinto and means carried by said cap and movable independently thereof and engaging said freely movable roller clamping member to cause said cap to move on said roller clamping members in forcing the freely movable roller clamping member against the bottle or jar.

9. A bottle seal comprising a cap, a pair of clamping members supported on said cap so as to be movable toward and away from each other, said clamping members being adapted to engage a bottle or jar between them and cam means movable on said cap to cause said clamping members to engage a bottle or jar between them and simultaneously force said cap onto the bottle or jar.

PAUL J. MARKS. 

